Daniel Tam-Claiborne is a multiracial writer, multimedia producer, and nonprofit director. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Daniel has spent over five years living and working in Greater China and is an outspoken advocate for Asian American issues and increased global understanding through education, cultural exchange, storytelling, and effective philanthropy. He serves as Executive Director at The Serica Initiative, a nonprofit organization that advocates for greater Asian American inclusion and advances positive social impact in U.S.-China relations.
"Asian Americans are experiencing more violence. It must be addressed, and yet we can do that in a way that emphasizes solidarity with other groups. It’s also important now to be a little bit more thoughtful about what we share, and how we think about anti-Asian violence," says Janelle Wong, Asian American Studies scholar.
"There are many divisions and bridge building is incredibly hard. It means going places where people might be hostile, and it means being able to embrace that discomfort. We have to nurture this and help sustain it," says Frank H. Wu, Queens College President.
A new digital series by The Serica Initiative and The WNET Group's Exploring Hate initiative adds Asian American voices into a conversation about race in America that otherwise stays between Black and White.
The idea of a shared identity for Asian Americans meant to encapsulate the experiences of millions of people with very different ties to countries and cultures can feel aspirational at best and essentializing at worst. What shared interests bind refugees struggling to make a home in a new country with people, and their families, who have lived in the United States for generations?
In celebration of that and in recognition of the many achievements of our community, The Serica Initiative is delighted to share that our five-part digital series be/longing: Asian American Now, co-produced with PBS’s flagship station in New York, is now available.
The NGLC will continue to explore strategic philanthropic practices and delve into deep discussion and exploration of questions around the role of business and society, with the goal of taking action-oriented collaboration on important social issues that lead to tangible results.
“Across the world, targeting specific groups—in our case, people who love the outdoors—and empowering locals to use their voices to get more support, that is absolutely what we need more of,” says Kyle Obermann, co-founder of China Outdoors Collective.
The release of ‘Shang-Chi’ during the pandemic is of no small import, as anti-Asian sentiment and incidences of anti-Asian hate in the U.S. and around the world continues to rise at an alarming rate.
“At whatever point people want to contribute to the conversation and to the elevation, I think there are many moving parts. And that's I think, again, that's exciting. Because if you don't want to be in front of a camera and you don't want to work for a studio, there's a lot of other things that people can do to move that needle. I call upon everybody to do that. We do need all hands on deck in my opinion,” says Minji Chang, actor, producer, and entrepreneur.
In China, tech companies are facing particular pressure to showcase social responsibility. Xi Jinping acknowledged that the “new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is giving a strong impetus to economic development.” However, he also pointed out that its negative effects on employment and income distribution need to be “effectively addressed and resolved.”